In our disease, it can seem almost impossible to look forward to the day ahead. Today is just another grind to appease our domineering addiction – just a struggle to survive, to get the next drink or drug.
The past is a blur of pain and regret. Tomorrow is a source of worry and fear and more struggle. There is little hope in our future when we are drowning in alcoholism and addiction.
In fact, the only hope there might be is that someday we will get clean and sober. That hope is real, and it’s our best bet. It is vital that we hold on to the hope of sobriety.
If you’re reading this, then that day is here – or it has already come, or it will soon. Hope and perspective are just a few of the great gifts of entering recovery.
We are given hope, which is renewed daily. Hope that if we stay sober and hold close to the program, then we can rest easy in the real possibility that tomorrow can be better – and then we can be better.
Chances like these were not often available to us in our disease, but now they are a real part of our life in recovery. We don’t have to deny ourselves hope, and we no longer have to avoid and dread the past, present, or future. A life in recovery puts the timelines of our life back into proper perspective, one day at a time.
That’s right. At Jaywalker Lodge, we deal with life one day at a time, and that day is always today.
The Past
The Big Book says “we do not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.” What a gift that is. For most of us, the past was an inescapable litany of hurts, regrets, and bad memories filled with missed opportunities, traumas, and embarrassing incidents.
Going through the process of the 12-Steps allows us to shift how we view our past. It gives us the life-changing chance to list our grievances, fears, and anger and see them clearly. We can get out of the shackles of the past, and put our previous life in its proper place.
Once we have done that, we can begin to see where changing ourselves may make us free men. Then we are given the help to make those changes.
What’s more is that after we review our past, we can start to see how overcoming all the anger, fear, and trauma can be used to help others. It’s an incredibly beautiful thing to watch as the darkness of the past becomes a tool to bring more light into people’s lives.
The Future
In our disease, the future was often a terrifying prospect – something to dread. There was little hope, only fear that we would suffer more and lose more of our lives to the tyrants of drugs and alcohol. We are not accustomed to thinking that the future may bear any good news.
Thankfully, a life in recovery also changes our perspective on tomorrow. We learn to trust the care of the future to the higher power we come to understand through the 12-Step process.
As we work the steps and journey in recovery, we begin to grow and we are given many opportunities to learn and improve ourselves and our lives. We can even start to give ourselves permission to accept hope.
As long as we stay sober today and incorporate the 12-Step principles into our affairs, it is okay to believe that we will continue to grow and improve, and to think our futures may hold good turns.
Gradually, the fear of the future leaves us as we work the 12-Steps. Fear lessens its grip on us, and tomorrow is turned over to our trusted higher power. We can learn to leave the future in its proper place, and focus on the great gift we are given every day.
The Present
The present truly is a gift in recovery. It likely wasn’t always so. In our disease, the day ahead of us was filled with more of the same.
Struggling and hustling to escape ourselves and our feelings through drugs, alcohol, and destructive behaviors. We may have forgotten how to wake up in the morning without a sense of dread and defeat.
Yet in recovery, we learn a new way to awaken each day. The literature gives us clear cut and beautiful directions for how to arise each morning, and how to retire each night.
We can bookend our days with level-minded learning, seeing what we did well and what we can improve. We can turn our day over to our higher power, seeking guidance as we go.
We are suddenly equipped with the tools to embrace each day and meet it with joyful participation. Maybe not every day in recovery is a good day, but every day spent in recovery is a beautiful gift.
The 12-Steps and the tools learned at Jaywalker Lodge help us to put the present into perspective. We see it for all it is. All we really have is today, and that’s all we have to focus on: here and now.
Are you ready to let go of the past and embrace your future? Our caring staff understands where you are now and we are fully prepared to help you take advantage of our unique recovery program one day at a time. Allow yourself to experience the gift of the present, and let us at Jaywalker Lodge show you how. Don’t stay stuck in the past or afraid of the future for one more second.
Call us now at (866) 529-9255.
As Chief Executive Officer Bill provides leadership and manage all day-to-day operations of Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care residential addiction treatment program for adult men.
